Tight rib cage sidelines Teixeira in Oakland

OAKLAND -- Mark Teixeira was scratched from Saturday's lineup against the Athletics with left rib cage tightness, but the injury is not thought to be serious and the Yankees' first baseman could play in Sunday's series finale.

The lineup change was announced 25 minutes prior to the scheduled first pitch at O.co Coliseum. Brian McCann moved to first base, with John Ryan Murphy inserted as the starting catcher.

Teixeira said that the discomfort felt like a spasm, locking up his back below the left shoulder. He was certain that the injury was not to his oblique, an area that often necessitates a stint on the disabled list.

"It's the back. It's not an oblique," Teixeira said. "I've pulled an oblique before, and it's not that. It wasn't on one swing. I woke up this morning, it was tight and it just slowly got worse."

Teixeira went through a full batting practice but was unable to play. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that he is hopeful that Teixeira will be able to play on Sunday.

"He was a little tight before he went out for BP. When he came in he said he was a little bit tighter," Girardi said. "We decided it was probably best not to play him."

Teixeira was 1-for-4 with a run scored and a sacrifice fly in the Yankees' 7-0 victory over the A's on Friday. He sat out three games in late May with right wrist inflammation, and has batted .235 (8-for-34) with two home runs in 10 games since then.

For the season, Teixeira is batting .241 with a team-leading 11 home runs and 31 RBIs.

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @bryanhoch and read his MLBlog, Bombers Beat. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.